Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book Readers > More E-Book Readers > Astak EZReader

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 12-06-2009, 11:39 PM   #31
GregS
Zealot
GregS has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.GregS has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.GregS has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.GregS has a complete set of Star Wars action figures.
 
Posts: 107
Karma: 308
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Perth Australia
Device: EZ Reader 5", Iliad
TTS further thoughts

I have had a chance now to look a bit closer at voice synthesis as a whole and what I have found is profoundly disappointing.

There is not the consistency between voices that allow them to be reliably used by different engines. Proprietorial engines predominate and basic standards appear absent.

Even in terms of marking up texts SSML seems inadequate and TEI Speak better but is unsupported.

I had given up the idea having a single text marked up for reading and performance, rather an EPUB having two within it. But I cannot see SSML providing enough tools for scoring a very good performance (I may be mistaken).

MP3 seems just too bulky and besides the problem is not in this, but getting a good digital voice performance in the first place.

Other problems arise in predicting where TTS might have pronunciation troubles and words like “read” which are pronounced differently in different contexts, let alone foreign words etc.,.

Potentially all that could be corrected by having a very simple TTS engine, a lot of very good voices and transliterating the whole text into IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).

Then two courses are open:

1) use standard dictionaries and look fro exceptions which then get listed for each publication.

2)render the whole text into IPA and hand transliterate problem words.

The text would need then to be “scored” as a performance.

Then we might have something for the future – what exists now is simply not all that better than the voice presently used on the EZReader.
GregS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2009, 05:53 PM   #32
Ben0
Retired Field Engineer
Ben0 is on a distinguished road
 
Ben0's Avatar
 
Posts: 21
Karma: 62
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Daly City, CA
Device: Astak EZ Reader Pro, Ectaco JBL
May I suggest a way to have the device "power off" after a user defined period of inactivity?
Ben0 is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 12-12-2009, 08:40 PM   #33
theducks
Well trained by Cats
theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
theducks's Avatar
 
Posts: 29,659
Karma: 54369090
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The Central Coast of California
Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben0 View Post
May I suggest a way to have the device "power off" after a user defined period of inactivity?
Feature not needed, only a tiny power trickle needed to detect a keypress, not like a Phone that has lots of background stuff going on all the time.

The E-Ink Screen flash (set what you see)...Sleep till you turn the page or other press that needs a screen change.
Lock, just stops the buttons from messing with your place.
theducks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2009, 10:29 AM   #34
omro
Addict
omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.omro ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 373
Karma: 452000
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Hamilton, On
Device: Kobo Aura HD
I love the button lock. I hated the DR's power down requirement, with the PP I just lock and go do something else or put it in my bag, pull out unlock and carry on. I've left it in that state for hours overnight and no issues.

I do plug my PP into my computer when I get to work daily so it's always going to be charged.
omro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2010, 09:19 PM   #35
Davimee
Happy Wife & Momma
Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.
 
Posts: 532
Karma: 1634
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: USA
Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)
Hello,

I just started looking into the Pocket Pro, and have a couple of questions. First, can you load a dictionary, and search for a certain word? Also, if I exit a book, look at a second book, and come back to the first book, will it start where I left off? And if not, is there a way to bookmark a page? And third, how much is shipping? I see the readers at www.theezreader.com for $199, but don't see a price for shipping. (Is this the correct place for these questions?)

Thanks!
Davimee is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 01-11-2010, 09:50 PM   #36
theducks
Well trained by Cats
theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
theducks's Avatar
 
Posts: 29,659
Karma: 54369090
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The Central Coast of California
Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A
Quote:
Originally Posted by Davimee View Post
Hello,

I just started looking into the Pocket Pro, and have a couple of questions. First, can you load a dictionary, and search for a certain word? Also, if I exit a book, look at a second book, and come back to the first book, will it start where I left off? And if not, is there a way to bookmark a page? And third, how much is shipping? I see the readers at www.theezreader.com for $199, but don't see a price for shipping. (Is this the correct place for these questions?)

Thanks!
The PEz will remember where you are to the nearest number ed page in EPUB,PDF (there may be 2-4 screen pages per page number in the book).
The memory of last read location is lost if you move or change the file. I beleve the same is true for bockmarks.

There is a free 1913 Websters dictionary (14MB .prc file) it is search-able.
It is not linked to what you are reading, Just another book
theducks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2010, 10:04 PM   #37
Davimee
Happy Wife & Momma
Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.
 
Posts: 532
Karma: 1634
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: USA
Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)
Thank you, theducks! The 1913 dictionary might actually be better for what I'm reading, because so far the only books I've downloaded to read on my Palm are public domain. So the older dictionary would be more likely to have the words used in the older books. I'm really curious to see an ebook reader in person and see if I like it!
Davimee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2010, 05:49 AM   #38
theducks
Well trained by Cats
theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
theducks's Avatar
 
Posts: 29,659
Karma: 54369090
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The Central Coast of California
Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A
Quote:
Originally Posted by Davimee View Post
Thank you, theducks! The 1913 dictionary might actually be better for what I'm reading, because so far the only books I've downloaded to read on my Palm are public domain. So the older dictionary would be more likely to have the words used in the older books. I'm really curious to see an ebook reader in person and see if I like it!
I noticed that I was not perfectly clear in my above
The Dictionary is not included.

More about where to get it and how how MR users made it work (better). https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...76&postcount=1
theducks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2010, 12:24 PM   #39
Davimee
Happy Wife & Momma
Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.Davimee once ate a cherry pie in a record 7 seconds.
 
Posts: 532
Karma: 1634
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: USA
Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)
TheDucks, yes, I understand. I've seen the 1913 dictionary at Gutenberg, but haven't tried using it yet. It seemed to be all running together so I didn't figure it would work for me at that time. But I'll check out the link you included. Thanks!
Davimee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2010, 10:53 PM   #40
CypressTiger
Member
CypressTiger began at the beginning.
 
CypressTiger's Avatar
 
Posts: 11
Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Wisconsin
Device: Paper, Cybook Odyssey
SD vs SDHC

I'm not a techie in any sense of the word so I don't understand the difference between SD and SDHC.

The 5" PPro says it has an SD reader up to 16 GB.
I have not been able to find a 16 GB SD card. I only find them in SDHC.

I was wondering if the Pocket Pro is able to read SDHC cards or is limited to the SD cards.

This doesn't change my mind about owning an Astak EZreader (it's due to arrive tomorrow! YAY!) I just don't want to buy the wrong type of SD card.
CypressTiger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2010, 12:19 AM   #41
theducks
Well trained by Cats
theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.theducks ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
theducks's Avatar
 
Posts: 29,659
Karma: 54369090
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The Central Coast of California
Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A
Quote:
Originally Posted by CypressTiger View Post
I'm not a techie in any sense of the word so I don't understand the difference between SD and SDHC.

The 5" PPro says it has an SD reader up to 16 GB.
I have not been able to find a 16 GB SD card. I only find them in SDHC.

I was wondering if the Pocket Pro is able to read SDHC cards or is limited to the SD cards.

This doesn't change my mind about owning an Astak EZreader (it's due to arrive tomorrow! YAY!) I just don't want to buy the wrong type of SD card.
Implied SDHC
4 G works perfect
I have 600 books on a 2G card and it is just over half full. (Not to many pictures, only covers)
theducks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2010, 01:44 AM   #42
Javed
Grand Sorcerer
Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Javed ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Javed's Avatar
 
Posts: 10,270
Karma: 1126878541
Join Date: Oct 2009
Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650
Welcome to the forum, CypressTiger!

The Pocket Pro can definitely use both SD and SDHC cards. There is some more general information about SD cards here in the wiki.

The Pocket Pro is a great reader; I'm sure you will be happy with it. Looking forward to seeing you around the forum.

Last edited by Javed; 01-21-2010 at 10:07 PM. Reason: official card class info has changed, see "Question about SD card support"-post#6
Javed is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2010, 12:22 PM   #43
CypressTiger
Member
CypressTiger began at the beginning.
 
CypressTiger's Avatar
 
Posts: 11
Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Wisconsin
Device: Paper, Cybook Odyssey
Wonderful! Thank you so much. I had no idea there was a 2gb in the package with some free books.

I really have to commend Astak for making a reader that is so intuitive. I think I looked at one page in the manual just to check if I needed to charge it or not. I have been able to navigate very easily without any instruction.

so far? I'm thrilled.
CypressTiger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2010, 12:25 PM   #44
pilotbob
Grand Sorcerer
pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pilotbob ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
pilotbob's Avatar
 
Posts: 19,832
Karma: 11844413
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Tampa, FL USA
Device: Kindle Touch
Quote:
Originally Posted by CypressTiger View Post
I'm not a techie in any sense of the word so I don't understand the difference between SD and SDHC.
HC stands for "high capacity". Any SD card over 4GB will be SDHC. So, if Pocket Pro says up to 16GB then it must support SDHC.

BOb
pilotbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2010, 12:40 PM   #45
DaleDe
Grand Sorcerer
DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DaleDe ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
DaleDe's Avatar
 
Posts: 11,470
Karma: 13095790
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Grass Valley, CA
Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob View Post
HC stands for "high capacity". Any SD card over 4GB will be SDHC. So, if Pocket Pro says up to 16GB then it must support SDHC.

BOb
True and 99% (or more) of those with a capacity of 4 GB will also be SDHC. There were, at one time, a few cards with 4G that did not follow the SD standard but they are likely long gone these days. So for practical purposes anything over 2G is SDHC.

Dale
DaleDe is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
BeBook dedicated device forum orwell2k Feedback 22 02-02-2010 11:59 AM
Dedicated OEM forum? AlfonsVH Feedback 2 08-20-2009 09:48 AM
Forum additions: Astak + Jetbook next! Alexander Turcic Announcements 14 08-15-2009 11:29 PM
Sigil moves in to a dedicated forum on MobileRead ! zelda_pinwheel News 8 08-06-2009 08:10 AM
Dedicated Cybook forum Opened at MobileRead! NatCh Announcements 14 07-07-2007 12:47 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:38 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.